The Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks today the Dormition of St. John of Rila (Ivan Rilski), patron saint of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian People. St. John of Rila was born around 876 in the village of Skrino located at the foot of the Osogovo Mountain. He was a contemporary of the reign of Knyaz Boris I and his son Vladimir, Tsar Simeon I the Great and his son Tsar Peter I, when Christianity was spreading across Bulgaria.
At the age of 25, St. John of Rila became a priest at St Demetrius monastery located under Ruen peak. After accepting the life of a monk, he left the monastery in order to continue his life in solitude and prayer. Later he settled in Rila and founded the Rila Monastery. He died in 946 and was buried in the small church in the Rila Monastery. St. John of Rila was canonized around 980.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has issued an official statement on “pagan neo-Hindu propaganda with pseudo-Christian elements”. The bishops of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church call for greater vigilance against “touring gurus, self-proclaimed “spiritual..
Our lands are the cradle of ancient civilizations. Thanks to Bulgarian archaeologists, they are becoming known to the general public, said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov at the presentation in Sofia of the restored statue of a man from the ancient..
The Regional History Museum in Gabrovo displays a modest, rectangular piece of paper measuring 10 by 15 cm : the first Bulgarian banknote — a twenty-leva bill with the serial number 000001. It was printed on August 1, 1885, in St. Petersburg, and this..
On 19 October 2025, the day on which Orthodox Bulgarians commemorate St Ivan Rilski the Miracle-Worker, the newly renovated St Ivan Rilski Church in Chicago..
Cloudy
Mostly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly cloudy, chance of rain